Keeper of the Lost Cities- Reocurrence
by keeper-fan-to-the-max
Summary: Sophie has the same dream each night, and she can't seem to shake it. But when she goes over to Everglen for Biana Vacker's birthday party, she forgets all about her nightmares. Or does she? (Story is much better than the summary). Rated T for minor violence.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

They were closing in all around her. She tried to escape from the ropes that bound her hands. She screamed and thrashed, but it was no use. One of the cloaked figures was standing next to her now, a vial in his hand. "Don't worry," he said, with an evil tone in his voice, "This won't hurt a bit." _Wait._ Sophie thought. _I know that voice. "_ Alvar?" Sophie asked. "What are you-" but before she could finish, everything was black.

 _Very_ short chapter, next ones will be longer. Enjoy! :)


	2. Chapter 2

"Sophie!" a voice distantly called. "Sophie, get up! You don't want to be late for Biana's party, do you?" _Wait, what?_ Thought Sophie, and opened her eyes to see Grady leaning over her with a smile on his face. "Dad!" Sophie yelled, and gave Grady a huge hug. "Woah, what's that for Soph?" Sophie started to tell him about her dream, but decided against it. All it would do is cause him worry. "Oh, nothing. I'm just...excited!" Grady laughed. "I don't believe that for a second, Sophie. Whatever. Let's get you to Everglen before everyone else arrives." Sophie groaned, and as Edaline walked into the room, said, "Do I have to go early? I just know Biana wants to give me a makeover." Then Edaline said, "Good morning, Sophie! And you know how much Biana loves that kind of stuff. Think of it as an early present to her." "Fine." Sophie grumbled. "And good morning!" she said, giving Edaline a hug. Sophie got ready, then said bye to Grady and Edaline as she light leaped over to Everglen.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sophie, you're here!" called Biana, running to greet her. "Thanks for coming early. Let's go!" and she pulled Sophie upstairs. "Good morning Della, good morning Alden!" Sophie called as the two girls rushed by them. "Good morning Sophie!" Della warmly replied. When they got upstairs, Biana had already picked out 5 dresses for Sophie to try on. The first four that she tried on were much too...loud. So when Sophie saw the fifth option she said, "Now, that's better." Biana grinned. "I knew you'd like it. I was saving it for last. Go try it on!" It was the most comfortable dress Sophie had ever worn. It was light blue, extremely soft, and came up to just before her knees in the front but was a bit longer in the back. The flowy short sleeves fit the design perfectly. After they finished getting ready, they headed downstairs for breakfast. "Mmm," Biana said. "I can't believe I forced them into making mallowmelt for breakfast." Sophie laughed. "Well, I sure am glad you did." She said as she took a huge bite. "Biana, Sophie, you look great! Eat quickly, guests will be arriving soon." Della said. Right as they finished, there was a knock on the door. The girls tried to guess who would be the first to show up. Biana bet it would be Fitz and Keefe, and Sophie guessed Tam and Linh. They opened the door.

If you want longer chapters, please review! Thanks so much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! I was given a note on this correct use of dialogue, hope this is better! :)

"Happy birthday Biana!" said Linh and Tam, giving her a huge.

"Hey, Sophie!" they said hugging her as well.

"Thanks for coming guys!" Biana said with a huge grin.

Sophie smirked as she said, "Told you they'd be here first." Biana rolled her eyes and grinned as the four of the walked inside.

"Uh, this is from me." Tam said, handing Biana a small box. Biana beamed back at him and thanked him.

Linh chimed in with, "And here's mine!" and handed Biana and oddly shaped present.

Biana put her presents on the delicate table in her room, when Sophie said, "I guess I should probably give you my present now. Here you go!" And she pulled out a medium size box from the bag she had packed.

"Sophie...is this what I think it is?" Biana asked with excitement.

Sophie grinned. "You'll never know until you open it. But, that'll have to wait until everyone is here."

Linh smiled and said, "That should be soon; I just heard a knock on the door." The four kids rushed downstairs to see Alden and Della welcoming Keefe, Dex, and Fitz inside.

"Happy birthday sis!" Fitz said, giving Biana a hug.

"Happy birthday, sis!" Keefe mimicked Fitz perfectly, and gave Biana a huge hug, causing her to blush a little. Everyone laughed.

Dex handed Biana his present and said, "Yeah, happy birthday!"

Biana smiled as she said, "Thanks guys! Let's go eat, I'm starving."

"Same!" everyone else replied at the same time, ending in more laughter. They headed into the dining room, where Della had prepared a delicious meal. Everyone ate hungrily in silence, until Sophie's laugh filled the air.

"What?" FItz asked, smiling.

"Oh, I just don't think I've ever heard us be this quiet before; the food sure is good! Della, you did a fantastic job." Sophie replied, and everyone agreed. After everyone finished, Dex asked everyone what they should do next.

Biana, Sophie, Fitz, and Keefe looked at each other with grins and said, "BASE QUEST!" and everyone laughed.

"So, how are we going to split up teams?" Tam asked.

Good question Tam, good question. Hope you're all enjoying so far! Plot twist coming up real soon.


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Hey guys! Haven't had much time to write lately, sorry. Short chapter, and not very good. But please keep tuning in! Next few chapters should be much better. Leave a review and thanks for reading!_

"I call Foster!" Keefe yelled.

"Wait, no. Sophie's on _my_ team." FItz argued back.

"Actually," Sophie started with a smirk, "I'm on Biana's team." Keefe and Fitz groaned; Biana beamed.

"That's right." said Biana, "and so is Linh. Boys against girls."

And so it was settled. It would be Fitz, Keefe, Dex, and Tam against Sophie, Biana, and Linh.

"On your marks...get set...GO!" called Biana, and the game started. As Sophie was using her telepathy to track the boys, she had Linh on guarding duty. The girls had picked a base near a small pond so that Linh could put her hydrokinetic ability to use, and the boys picked a place surrounded by majestic trees.

"Got it!" Sophie yelled suddenly. "Linh, FItz and Dex are heading toward us, passing through a clearing of trees to the left up ahead."

"Cool. I'll be ready for them." Linh replied, starting to get ready for the attack.

 _Biana_ , Sophie transmitted to her. _I've pinpointed their base's location. Keep moving north, then when you see a patch of six identical trees make a sharp right turn. Keefe is guarding the base, but you should be able to...well...vanish by then._ Sophie started to continue, but yelled, "What the heck?" When a deeply accented voice filled her mind. _Fitz!_ She transmitted. _I never gave you permission to enter!_ Fitz transmitted back, _I didn't try to! I think when you were tracking me (and pinpointed my location, how the heck are you so good at that?) you entered my mind. I started thinking about where to go but somehow our thoughts were still connected I think. Also, look behind you._ He finished. Sophie turned around to see Fitz standing there with his arms crossed.

"And now you're distracted and your team doesn't know what to do." He said with a grin. But he hadn't heard Biana come up behind him, dragging Keefe and Dex with her.

"We don't need to know what to do." said Biana, making Fitz jump. "We won." She grinned, while Keefe and Dex looked highly embarrassed.

They played two more times, the girls winning both, before Keefe said, "Okay, this is getting old." The girls grinned, high-fived, and everyone headed inside.


	6. Chapter 6

_AN_ : Aaannndddd another chapter is posted! Sorry it took so long, I have been busy lately. If you have any suggestions on a certain day that I should post on, please review! (feel free to review anything else also). It makes my day when I have people tell me that they enjoyed reading my work, so shoutout to those people, you know who you are. :) Okay, enough with the chatter, and onto the story!

"Did you kids have fun?" Alden asked, smiling.

"Yep!" Linh replied, while Sophie and Biana nodded. Keefe, Fitz, Tam and Dex, however, just stood there looking mad.

Della laughed. "So I take it girls won the game?" she asked.

Dex replied, "Yeah, and not just once-three times. _All three times!_ " Everyone except the boys laughed at his frustration.

"Hey, I have an idea." Tam stated. "Biana should open her presents." Everyone agreed that it was a good idea, and they all headed up to Biana's room.

"Hmm, who's should I open first?" She asked. Everyone shouted "MINE!" at the same time, ending in a round of laughter. Biana ended up opening the present from Fitz first.

"Oh, Fitz, I love it!" said Biana. He had given her a beautiful headband that had the same design as her old nexus had. The only difference was the beautiful purple stone in the middle, making it shimmer in the light.

Fitz smiled. "I knew you would like it." he said, giving his sister a hug.

Biana opened Dex's gift next. It was an object that looked like an imparter, but clearly had some special Dex-ified touches too it. Dex told her that when she said the command "gather", it could hail him, Keefe, Fitz, Sophie, Linh, and Tam all at once.

Biana said, "Awesome! Thanks Dex!" and gave him a smile that he returned. Linh had given Biana a book on all different hairstyles, Tam got her a mix of appearance-changing potions from Slurps and Burps, and Keefe had drawn all seven of them standing with their arms around each other, with a beautiful backdrop of Everglen.

"Keefe, this is stunning!" she said, and everyone agreed.

"Now for Sophie's. think I know what it is." said Biana, giving Sophie a smile. Sophie grinned. Sure enough, it was what Biana had been hoping for-but with a slight change.

Biana gasped. "Sophie!" she was speechless. "Sophie, it's… I can't even describe how amazing this is!" It was a beautiful jewelry box made of glass. Sophie and Biana had been out shopping for a new pair of shoes for Biana when they saw a small little shop called Glass Crafts. They wandered in and were looking around just for fun when Biana spotted the jewelry box. Sophie came over to Biana, and both girls agreed that one of them needed to have it. They opened the box, and it was just as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. They left the shop and went back to shoe shopping, but Sophie and Edaline came back later that day bought it for Biana. But little did Biana know, Sophie had made some changes to the box. She had carved Biana's name in beautiful cursive on the front of the box, and had attached a glass swan charm to the inside of the box. So when Biana saw the new box, she was not expecting it.

"Do you like it?" Sophie asked, hoping she had made the right decision.

Biana replied, "Sophie, I love it! Thank you so much! The swan charm...it's amazing." Sophie was smiling, and so was Biana.

Sophie gave Biana a hug and said, "Happy birthday, Biana."

"Kids!" Della called from downstairs. "Time for dinner!" And everyone rushed downstairs. The meal was amazing, and everyone was full by the time they had finished. Alden told them they had some time before they had to go to bed, so they all went upstairs.

"Tam, truth or dare?" asked Linh.


	7. Chapter 7

AHHHH! Okay guys, I swear I have an excuse for not posting in so long. Kind of. So here goes my explanation: The last few weeks of school were very busy for me, which is why new chapters were not posted then. Then, for next month after that, I got to go on a trip to Europe. I went to France and Spain (note to anyone who lives in either of those places: holy cow, you live in such a beautiful place, like wow!). Anyway, every day I spent there I woke up early and went to bed very late, unfortunately leaving me no time to write. Now I am back home, and am currently writing the next few chapters and have the rest of the story fully planned out. But now I need your guys' decision: should I post the next chapters all at one on the upcoming Monday or should I post a new chapter each Monday? Please comment what you would rather I do. Have an amazing day! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Posting this chapter today instead of Monday cuz I couldn't wait for you guys to read it. So what are you waiting for? Read away! (and feel free to review).**

And so the game begun.

Tam replied, "Dare." and everyone tried to think of one.

Keefe smiled a devilish grin and said, "I got one." Then he whispered his idea to Dex who also smiled.

"Okay Tam." Dex started. "We all go to Slurps and Burps and you have to pick out elixirs so that you transform two people into looking like one another. You can choose the two people, but you have to make them look exactly like each other."

Tam thought for a minute before saying, "I know. I'll do Biana and Sophie." The girls agreed, and they went downstairs to see if Della would take them over to Slurps and Burps. Luckily, Della was all for the idea, so they all headed over. Tam had to pick out all the elixirs with no help from anyone, especially Dex, so he took forever making sure he got everything.

"Tam, hurry up!" said Linh after waiting for half an hour.

"I'm almost done, I swear." Tam replied. "Just double checking that I'm not forgetting anything." After five more minutes, Tam was ready to leap back. When they got there, everyone ran upstairs to Biana's room, and Tam got started immediately. He started with changing Sophie's eyes to the brilliant teal color that the Vackers were known for and turned Biana's into the uncommon brown that hadn't been seen before Sophie joined the elven world. Tam then changed Biana and Sophie's hair, and everything else he had thought of.

"Okay guys." Tam said to everyone. "Ready for the big reveal?"

"YEAH!" Replied everyone. Sophie and Biana came out, and no one could speak. They all sat there on Biana's rug, jaws dropped at the sight of the two girls.

"No way…" Keefe started, but couldn't seem to finish. Dex and Fitz couldn't seem to stop looking back and forth in between the two.

Linh had an awed expression on her face, and finally broke the silence by saying, "Tam, I can't believe you actually managed to do that!"

"Hey!" Tam replied. "Well, actually, me either."

"Can we look?" Biana asked.  
"Yeah, we still haven't seen ourselves." Sophie chimed in.

"Don't freak." Tam said, and lead them to one of Biana's full length mirrors.

But Biana and Sophie screamed anyway when they saw their reflections.

"No way…" said Biana.

Keefe grinned. "That's exactly what I said."

After ten more minutes of staring at Biana and Sophie, the kids heard Della yell from downstairs that it was time for them to go to bed. Fitz, Keefe, Dex, and Tam headed to Fitz's room while the girls stayed in Biana's. The all got ready for bed, and the elixirs had faded away. Before Sophie knew it, both Biana and Linh were fast asleep- and snoring too. As hard as she tried, Sophie just couldn't fall asleep, so she went downstairs to get some water. As she was walking through the mansion, Sophie heard a floorboard behind her creak. She turned around.

"Fitz?" Sophie asked. "What are you doing?"

"Couldn't sleep. I was heading downstairs to get water or something." Fitz replied.

"Yeah, me too." Sophie said, and the two of them finished walking downstairs in silence. Once they got their water, Fitz and Sophie headed over to one of the many living rooms in the Vackers' home. They sat down on a couch, and Sophie noticed Fitz had chosen to sit very close to her. Like, legs pressed against each other close. When Sophie glanced at him, she saw that he was looking at her too, and she quickly looked away towards a window, a blush creeping up her cheeks. As she stared out the window, not daring to steal another look at Fitz, Sophie's gaze fell on an object. A human-looking object. Wearing a cloak. And the cloak bore a symbol that looked unmistakably like the Neverseen sign.

 **Author's Note: AHHHH cliffhangers are my favorite ;) Nooowwww we're getting into the real plot line. Please leave a review on your thoughts, they really do help! Oh, and who's ready for some Fitzphie/Sofitz action? Sorry to all the Foster-Keefe shippers out there. Have a great day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Here's a short chapter for you guys. Plot is growing (; who loves Fitzphie as much as I do? To those who reviewed:**

 **booksaremylife: I agree, these poor kids never get some time off.**

 **addison01106: Updating right now:)! Also, if the chapters are longer, there will be less of them, so I'm torn. :(**

 **Aria Ren Blair: ;) Love them together!**

 **TEAM SOPHIE: Thanks for the advice! (PS- love the username. Sophie is amazing!)**

Sophie gasped. "Fitz!" she yelled. "Did you see that?"

"What?" Fitz asked, a worried tone to his voice.

"I was looking out that window- I think I saw a member of the Neverseen!" she explained.

"No...what is he..or she..or they... doing here?" Fitz sounded genuinely afraid.

"No idea. But I am going to find out and stop them before they can do any harm." Sophie sounded determined. "Do you want to stay?" She asked.

"Are you kidding? You're not going by yourself, Soph. I'm with you all the way." Fitz replied.

"Okay. Are we going to wake up everyone else?" Sophie followed up.

"Well, I know I'm in." Biana's voice filled the room as Sophie let out a small yelp.

Keefe suddenly appeared, laughing. "Come on, Foster. If you're afraid of Biana how are you supposed to take on the Neverseen? I'm coming too."

"Now that that's settled, what about Tam, Dex, and Linh?" Asked Fitz.

Biana replied, "Uh, guys, more importantly, do we tell mom and dad?"

Alden and Della walked in. "Well, you've got to now." said Alden. "What is it?"  
"Okay, I don't want to have to tell the story multiple times, so can someone please go get Dex, Linh, and Tam?" Sophie asked.

"I'll get them." said Biana, sprinting upstairs. Once the three others had joined them, Sophie told everyone the whole story, beginning to end.

"So, who's coming and who's staying?" asked Sophie.

Everyone looked at her with quizzical expressions on their faces.

"What?" asked Sophie.

"It's just...do you really think that anyone's going to stay- after everything we've been through together?" asked Dex.

"Well, I guess not, but guys- I'm not even sure it was really them! I just don't want you all wasting your time on something that might not even be what I think it is." Sophie replied.

Keefe and Biana said in unision, "Better safe than sorry." And then looked at each other and smiled. Alden said he agreed with them, and that everyone would be needed.

"Kids," Della started, "Go get some sleep. Alden and I can figure out the details ourselves." So they all headed upstairs.

 **(AN: Italicized font coming up means telepathic transmissions. F- will be Fitz and S- will be Sophie. Alrighty, carry on!)**

 _F-You okay, Sophie?_

 _S- Yeah, just tired._ But Fitz knew the brown-eyed elf too well.

 _F- Sophie, what is it? You can tell me._

 _S- It's just...I feel like I have to fix this. Like this is my battle. I was made for a purpose, and I just wont feel like my job is completed until I finish this, once and for all. And I hate that people are being hurt in the process. I just don't want that to happen to any of you._

 _F- Hey. We're in this together. And nothing, and I mean nothing, can ever change that again. Now get some sleep, Soph._

As Sophie let her guard down and fell asleep, the secret she had been protecting from Fitz during Cognate training slipped out and into Fitz's mind. The words racked in his brain, and he knew he wouldn't sleep that night. He had seen them, he had almost heard them. Three small words that turned his world upside down: I love you.

 _She loves me?_


	10. IMPORTANT:PLEASE READ!

**Uh oh... I have a feeling some of you are going to be quite angry with me. I know, I haven't updated in more than...what is it... 5 months? Eeek, so sorry. Anyway, my schedule has been jam-packed, and I couldn't seem to find the time to write much. Also, after waiting until** ** _Nightfall_** **was already out (props to Shannon Messenger by the way), I felt like the story would be a little pointless. However, I do still have another short chapter that I haven't posted yet, so here's where this whole paragraph is going; Is it worth continuing this story? Or should it be discontinued, so that I can work on a new story idea I have been thinking about? It's up to you, so head on over to the comment section and let me know what you think.**

 **Okay, if you were only here for the announcement, you may leave (after commenting, ofc :))**

 **It's time to talk about** ** _Nightfall_** **, so if you haven't read it, DO NOT READ ANYTHING BELOW!**

 **I REPEAT DO NOT READ ANYTHING BELOW!**

 **First of all, thank goodness that Dexphie is out of the picture. I don't know what I would've done if the best friend had turned into the girl's boyfriend in yet ANOTHER book. Also, I was a die-hard Fitzphie shipper before reading** ** _Nightfall_** **and the Keefe short story, but I have realized that maybe...just MAYBE...Keefe and Sophie would be pretty cute together. Don't get me wrong, my little heart will always be filled with love for Fitzphie, but if doesn't work out, then I guess I could settle for Team Foster-Keefe.**

 **Alright, enough about ships. The plot line of this book, the twists and turns, the things you see coming and the things you don't...Ms. Messenger, bless your soul. Thank you for writing in such a way that I can picture the things described. Thank you for making it seem like I know these characters, like they are a part of my life. And thank you for the sacrifices you made; pulling all-nighters to fit deadlines, putting your job as a priority, etc. I really don't know if she understands how much her and the books mean to us readers. I hope she does.**

 **Huh, this got kinda long, didn't it. Well, I'm done rambling now, so thanks for reading! And remember to tell me if you want** ** _Reoccurences_** **to continue, or if you want me to bring out the new idea. I appreciate you all more than you could ever know! Have a great day!**


	11. Chapter 10

**New chapter because I felt like it :) Please review so that I know whether or not to keep writing!**

"Sophie! What's wrong?" Biana asked, woken by Sophie's screaming.

Sophie jolted awake after being shaken by both Biana and Linh.

"I'm sorry guys. I just...had a nightmare." Sophie explained.

Biana gasped. "I bet it was triggered by seeing the Neverseen!"

"Oh yeah! Don't worry about it." Agreed Linh.

Sophie laughed nervously. "Y-yeah, that's probably why." Sophie decided it would be better to keep the repeating nightmare to herself. She had a feeling the dream wasn't just a coincidence; it had been playing in her head for almost two weeks now. So she let herself bottle it in, told herself not to let anyone know.

She was Sophie Foster.

Strong, confident Sophie Foster.

Never afraid, always brave Sophie Foster.

But she was slowly cracking...worrying...breaking…Sophie Foster.

Heading downstairs, Sophie got ready to head back home. But before she could leave, she saw Fitz heading her way. She smiled.

"Good morning."

"Oh. Um. Good morning." Fitz replied, quickly rushing past Sophie.

Sophie's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

 _That was strange._ Sophie thought to herself.

"Hey, what was that about?" Keefe asked after seeing the awkward encounter.

"Uh...What...do you mean?" answered Fitz, shakily.

"Don't play dumb. What's up with you and Foster?"

"Oh. Nothing!" Fitz tried to come up with an excuse. "Just worried about the Neverseen I guess."

Keefe mentally rolled his eyes as Fitz scrambled away.

 _Yeah, right. Maybe Foster will know what's up._

Keefe walked up to Sophie, and in unison, they asked, "What's his deal?"

Sophie still looked confused. "No idea. I thought you might know."

Keefe snorted. "He told me he was just nervous about the Neverseen."

"Sure he is." Sophie mumbled under her breath and went back to packing.

"I don't believe him either. What do you say, should we make that our challenge today?"

Sophie looked up, a blank expression on her face. "Huh?"

"Come on, let's find out what's wrong with Fitzy."

"Keefe, you know we have to plan, talk to Forkle, get supplies, g-"

Della walked in, interrupting Sophie.

"You know, it's fine to let the adults handle things sometimes."

Sophie's annoyed expression made Keefe burst out in laughter.

"Seriously, Sophie. I'm sure taking one day off isn't going to be a problem. Go have fun."

Keefe grinned as Della left the room. "See? It'll be fine. So, shall we?"

Sophie sighed. "Yeah, why not." She stood up and smiled at Keefe.

Keefe beamed.

 _If only she knew how good it is to see her smile._ He thought to himself. And off they went.

 _Calm down. She doesn't know that I know._

Fitz thought to himself as he paced around.

 _Should I tell her I know? No. That would make things so awkward. But she needs to know that I...I love her too. No. Stop. I'm sure she just meant as a friend. Yeah. Probably. It's best not to tell her just in case. Anyway, I bet Keefe and Dex and every other guy is in love with her. What makes me think that she'd pick me over them? Imagine that, Sophie Foster choosing me. Ha._

His thoughts were interrupted as someone knocked on the door.

"Fitz?"

 _Crap._

"It's Sophie. Can I come in?"

 _Act casual. Pretend you don't know._

"Umm...yep!"

"Hey. Everyone is downstairs, we're about to eat breakfast." She looked around. "What have you been doing?"

"Oh, you know," he answered. "Just some...stuff."

 _Just some stuff? Could I be any more obvious?_ Fitz scolded himself.

Sophie's head wrinkled in confusion.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yep! Everything is great. I'd better get going. See you later!" Fitz replied walking out of the room and leaving Sophie dumbfounded.

"Wait, Fitz!" Sophie yelled after him. Fitz stopped walking and turned to face Sophie.

"Can you please just tell me what's wrong?" Sophie pleaded.

Fitz looked defeated as he contemplated the outcomes of what would happen if he told her.

He took a deep breath.

"How about a Cognate exercise?" He asked.

Sophie's eyes widened with surprise.

"Now?" She asked.

"Yeah. If you tell me the secret you've been hiding," started Fitz, "I'll tell you this one."

Sophie's cheeks immediately started blushing as she weighed out the options in her mind.

 _May as well just humiliate myself now and save the later embarrassment._ She thought.

"Okay." She agreed.

So they sat down, and their Cognate rings snapped together.


	12. Chapter 11

**AN: Short chapter, but a few of you have been asking for an update. So, here you go! Please review, and go take the poll in my profile! I want to see what your favorite ships are :) Enjoy!**

"Biana, honey, do you know where Fitz is?" Della asked, confused why her son hadn't made an appearance yet that morning.

"No," Biana replied, "And I don't know where Sophie is either."

"Wait, Fitz and Sophie are both missing?" Keefe asked, walking into the dining room.

Dex looked over from the couch he was sitting on, listening to the conversation.

"Yeah." Biana confirmed.

Keefe's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

 _I thought Sophie was going to wait for me until she talked to Fitz._ He thought to himself.

"I'll go look for them." Keefe quickly said.

"I'll come with you." Dex said as he stood up.

Keefe shot him a look and said, "No, stay here. I'll be quick."

Dex stared at him for a second before sitting back down to fix his imparter.

He climbed the stairs quietly, listening for the voices of his two friends.

Meanwhile, Sophie was looking anywhere but at Fitz while they sat in complete silence.

 _So...how should we do this?_ Sophie transmitted, finally peeking up at Fitz.

He looked back at her. _I guess we just count to three and then tell each other at the same time?  
_ Sophie spoke no words, just nodded her head and took a deep breath.

 _Ready?_ Fitz tentatively asked.

Swallowing loudly, Sophie replied. _Yeah. Let's get this over with._

 _Okay._ Fitz started to count.

 _One…_

 _Two…_

 _Th-_

 _Wait!_ Sophie interrupted. _Promise me one thing before I tell you._

Fitz looked into her eyes. _Anything._ He said.

 _Promise me this won't change our friendship. I can't lose you over this._ Sophie looked away.

Fitz took her other hand in his. _Nothing you are about to tell me could drive me away._

Sophie forced herself to look at him again. _Okay. I'm ready now._

 _You sure?_ Fitz checked.

Sophie nodded. _I'm sure._

 _Let's count together this time._

 _One…_

 _Two…_

 _Th-_

"There you guys are!" Keefe said, bursting into the room. He looked at them.

"Oh." He exclaimed, his eyes darting to their intertwined hands. "Am I interrupting something?"


End file.
